Garnet Til Alexandros XVII
}} Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (also known as Dagger) is a fictional character in the Final Fantasy series. She first appears in the 2000 video game Final Fantasy IX as one of its protagonists. In this game, she is trying to escape her kingdom in order to meet her uncle, and joins with her kidnappers, including Zidane Tribal, to do so. She assumes the pseudonym Dagger and cuts her hair, which the designers regarded as an important one that the designers had to effectively treat as a separate character while writing her. Garnet received praise from critics as a standout of Final Fantasy IX s cast, ranking highly as a female character in the Final Fantasy series. Concept and creation Event designer Kazuhiko Aoki felt that the scene where Garnet cuts her hair was an important one in the story of Final Fantasy IX. He explains that it is a quiet moment among otherwise frenetic action and was important to the game's pacing. Aoki was worried about how Garnet would be handled with this and told the writers that they would have to effectively write two Garnets, one with long hair and one with short. Event planner Nobuaki Komoto found this difficult, adding that players tended to have different images of Garnet in their heads. He felt that a person's thoughts on the character are reflected by which depiction they think of. While the development team referred to her as Dagger, the nickname she chooses to disguise her identity, most players still referred to her as Garnet. Garnet was first revealed in a Coca-Cola advertisement featuring other characters from Final Fantasy IX. Appearances Garnet first appears in the video game Final Fantasy IX as one of its protagonists. She is a princess of Alexandria Castle, and the daughter of Queen Brahne. Protagonist Zidane Tribal and others come to kidnap her, and she reveals to them that she wants to be kidnapped for her own purposes. She accidentally participates in a play and ad-libs her performance in disguise along with the kidnappers. When her and her kidnappers' identities are revealed, the Queen orders her soldiers to attack the stage; however, they are able to escape. Along with her and her kidnappers, a knight named Adelbert Steiner and a Black Mage named Vivi Ornitier joined them. She is captured by a monster when their ship crash lands in a forest, which the others help her escape. Brahne sends entities called the Black Waltzes to retrieve Garnet and kill the others. Garnet opts to assume a different identity and calls herself 'Dagger' after seeing Zidane's dagger. The group then discovers a Black Mage Factory, which causes Vivi distress. The group is attacked by one of the Black Waltzes, but manages to escape to Lindblum, where Garnet meets her uncle Cid. She discovers that Cid paid her kidnappers to take her to him, as he felt she was unsafe there. Despite being ordered by Cid to stay at the castle, she and Steiner sneak away so that Garnet can confront Brahne. Garnet was released as a figurine in Square Enix's Bring Arts line, sold as a pair along with Zidane. Reception Since her appearance in Final Fantasy IX, Garnet has received generally positive reception. In a poll of fans of Final Fantasy, Garnet was ranked eighth on the list of greatest female Final Fantasy characters. USGamer found Garnet to be one of the best-written role-playing game characters. Writer Daniella Lucas initially did not like Garnet, stating that she saw her as just a damsel in distress. Later in life however with more life experience, they found that they related to her more, citing her struggles with her mother and her guilt for what happened to Alexandria. Ashley Barry, writing for The Mary Sue, felt similarly; they grew up seeing Garnet as weak, due in part to her "traditional femininity," but later in life realized that they only thought this because they were raised to see femininity as weak. They noticed Garnet seeming happier when she had control of herself and defying the limitations posed onto her. Writer Natalie Flores also felt Garnet's relationship with her mother intriguing, praising Brahne's passing and apology to Garnet as one of the series' most touching moments. They noted that it portrays a complex relationship, one that writers of later Final Fantasy should refer to when they portray motherhood. Touch Arcade found the story of Final Fantasy IX at its strongest when Garnet or Vivi are focused upon. GamesRadar and Screen Rant felt that the relationship between Garnet and Zidane was poor, with the former citing a lack of chemistry between the two characters. Writer Leah B. Jackson was more positive towards the relationship, finding the early premise that Garnet wanted to be kidnapped by Zidane intriguing. Author Sean Atkinson discussed the theme, "Melodies of Life", and how it is used to represent particular relationships, namely those with Zidane and Eiko. The theme combines two themes heard throughout the game which are important to Garnet, and Melodies of Life only plays late in the game. They suggest that the execution of the two component themes and the complete theme is meant to show that Garnet and Zidane are destined to be together. References Category:Final Fantasy IX characters Category:Square Enix protagonists Category:Child characters in video games Category:Female video game characters Category:Fictional shamans Category:Fictional mediums Category:Fictional child abuse victims Category:Fictional princesses Category:Fictional queens Category:Fictional orphans Category:Fictional witches Category:Fictional adoptees Category:Fictional characters who use magic Category:Fictional characters with healing abilities Category:Fictional characters with posttraumatic stress disorder Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2000